But the involvement of Silver - whose spokesman Dan Weiller confirmed the meetings - has raised serious questions among government watchdog groups.

"At a minimum, it's an appearance of impropriety," said Susan Lerner, of Common Cause-New York. "It's very inappropriate because it looks as if the speaker is using his office as the most powerful elected official in the Assembly to try and influence the controller, an independent elected official," Lerner added.

"It has a tacit stamp of approval from the speaker when he's sitting there during the meeting, and that's extremely troubling," Lerner said.

Weiller said the speaker has no financial connection to Kalish, Richter or their firms, and that there had been no deals for him to receive any fees. He said Silver met Kalish, who could not be reached for comment, during a trip to Tel Aviv with the American Israel Friendship League.

Richter said he has known Silver, a longtime Rangers fan and season ticket holder, for years and often sees him at charity events.

The former Olympic medal winner said he believes it was at one of those events that he asked Silver to introduce him to DiNapoli.

"Clearly, he's well-connected, and I was trying to market my wares as much as possible," Richter said.

He said he never offered a fee to Silver. "I'd be embarrassed to suggest such a thing," Richter said. "I don't feel there was any wrongdoing whatsoever on either side," No. 35 said. "It was as upfront and honest and as proper as possible."

DiNapoli is a former assemblyman who was appointed to the position by Silver and his fellow Democrats after Hevesi resigned in disgrace.

DiNapoli spokesman Dennis Tompkins defended the meeting with Silver and Richter, saying the pension fund is always looking for good new investment opportunities. The fact that Richter's firm did not get the business shows the process is not unduly influenced by politics, Tompkins said.

"Obviously Shelly's influence didn't carry a lot of weight in this situation," Tompkins said. "The process worked. The investments were vetted, and it was found those products were not a good fit for the fund."